Ciscoe's To-do List: Wait to shear lavender so its foliage can add a silver twinkle through winter

By CISCOE MORRIS, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, October 13, 2006

Photo: Kurt Schlosser/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Remove the spent flowers from lavender but wait until March to give the plants a buzz cut.

Remove the spent flowers from lavender but wait until March to give the plants a buzz cut.

Photo: Kurt Schlosser/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Ciscoe's To-do List: Wait to shear lavender so its foliage can add a silver twinkle through winter

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Most of the books you read tell you to shear the living tweetle out of your lavender in fall.

The idea is to shear to within a half-inch of bare branches in order to keep the plant compact and to prevent unsightly bare woody branches from forming at the base. Don't do it. Lavenders are evergreen plants featuring attractive silver foliage that looks great in the winter garden. If you shear them hard in fall, they look like gradoo (not good) all winter long.

Instead, shear them only enough in fall to remove the spent flowers and to create a neat appearance. Wait until early March to give them the Buhner buzz cut. The effect on growth will be the same as if you sheared hard in fall; plus your pruning restraint will allow your lavender plant to enhance your winter garden rather than detract from it.

Dig and store Gladiolus corms

Although there are a few species of Gladiolus that are hardy, most must be dug and stored for the winter. It's generally best to dig them after a freeze has killed the foliage. In the maritime Northwest, we may not experience a freeze until late winter, so dig them by early November, even if the foliage still looks good. Dig carefully to make sure you don't harm the corm (bulb-like structure).

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Allow the corms to cure in a dry area for about 2 weeks before gently removing the soil. Remove any cormels (miniature corms) after the soil has been removed. Any that are at least 1/2 inch in diameter can be planted a couple of inches deep in spring, but they won't bloom for two to three years. Snap off the spent old corm from below the new one.

Store each corm in a paper sandwich bag until you replant in April.

If you noticed silver streaking on the leaves and the blooms were distorted, your glads are infested with thrips. Soak the corms in a solution of 4 teaspoons of Lysol per gallon of water for six hours; then let them dry before storing.

It's worth the trouble for dazzling flower stalks

The large flowering varieties of Cymbidium orchids are popular because they are relatively easy to grow as houseplants, and because they flower during the off-season with spectacular blooms that last practically all winter long.

If you bought one last year, however, there are some tricks to get it to bloom again this winter. In order to encourage bud set, Cymbidiums need to experience the same dry, cool nights and warm days as occur in the high elevations in their native Southeast Asia.

Water just enough to keep the foliage from shriveling. Keep your Cymbidium in an unheated garage at night, but move it into a warm, bright location in the house during the day. When in the house, locate the plant where it gets enough sun to turn the leaves lime green. Dark green leaves are a sign that the plant isn't getting enough light to set blooms.

As soon as you see buds form, bring the plant into the house for the winter, but place it in a shady location. Then get ready to enjoy a fantastic display of as many as 12 5-inch blooms per flower stalk.